Before we can respond to God, in obedience to the gospel, we must realize our lost spiritual condition.  Romans 3:23 tells us  “…for all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God.”  Since we are sinners we must realize that we cannot earn our salvation.   Salvation is a gift from God to man, made possible by the sacrifice of Jesus upon the cross.  “For by grace you are saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God” ( Eph 2:8).

 (1)  Hear the Gospel.  In order to obey the gospel, a man must first hear and understand the  gospel (Romans 10:14).

 (2)  Believe the Gospel.  He then must believe in his heart, what he has heard, to be true.  “He that cometh to God must believe that he is…”(Heb 11:6).

 (3)  Repent of past sins.  God now “commands men everywhere that they should repent”  (Acts 17:30).

 (4)  Confess Jesus as Lord.  One must in his heart believe that Jesus is the Christ, the son of God and confess His name.  (Acts 8:36-37).

 (5)  Baptism for remission of sins.  Jesus said in Mark 16:16: “He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned."